SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — More than four tons of trash was left behind from the Fourth of July celebrations at Lake Tahoe.
It took volunteers with the League to Save Lake Tahoe about three hours to clean up the 8,559 pounds of litter left behind. That trash included cigarette butts, plastic food wrappers, beach toys and even barbecues taken from six beach sites, parking lots and streets around the Tahoe Basin.
Zephyr Shoals was the most impacted of their cleanup sites. Organizers of the cleanup said nearly 6,279 pounds of litter was strewn across the beach and piled between bushes and trees in a nearby forest. Zephyr Shoals is an unmanaged area on Tahoe's east shore, far from trash cans, dumpsters or toilets.
“This morning, one of Tahoe's beaches looked like a landfill. Thanks to passionate volunteers and community partners, it started to look like Tahoe again after some hard work,” said Dr. Darcie Goodman Collins, CEO of the League to Save Lake Tahoe. “To Keep Tahoe Blue, everyone who enjoys this place must act more like our volunteers and partners by doing their part. It starts with leaving nothing behind and picking up any trash you come across. Unless each of us share in the responsibility for protecting this place, it could be ruined.”
However, the organization did note that some sites were "relatively litter-free," such as Commons Beach and the Kings Beach State Reaction Area.
The League to Save Lake Tahoe has been doing these cleanups since 2014.
“Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Northstar are proud to partner with the League to Save Lake Tahoe through our EpicPromise program for their July 5th beach cleanup,” said Tom Fortune, VP and COO of Heavenly and the Tahoe Region at Vail Resorts. “It is crucial that we all work together as good stewards of the environment – something we deeply value as a company and as members of the Tahoe community. We are grateful to the League for their work and in organizing this annual event that all of our teams look forward to.”
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